Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-206393 (JP2008-206393A) discloses a stator for rotary electric machine that is used for a compact rotary electric machine, which includes a stator core 103 having an annular yoke 101 and a plurality of magnetic pole portions 102 projecting toward a centerline C of the annular yoke 101, a plurality of winding portions 104 formed of a winding conductor wound around the plurality of magnetic pole portions 102, and a slot insulator 105 that is formed of an insulating resin and attached to the stator core 103 for insulating the stator core 103 from the winding portions 104, as shown in FIG. 5. A winding machine M for winding the winding conductor is also illustrated in FIG. 5. A connecting wire hook 106 for engaging with a connecting wire formed of a part of the winding conductor is formed on one end portion of the slot insulator 105. The connecting wire hook 106 is formed in a portion that faces a slot opening space 107, which is a space between adjoining two of magnetic pole pieces 102a covered with the slot insulator 105. The connecting wire hook 106 located within an extended slot space 109, which is defined by extending a slot space 108, where the winding portion 104 is located, toward the connecting wire hook 106 of the slot insulator 105. In other words, the connecting wire hook 106 is formed within the extended slot space 109, which is defined by extending the slot space 108 in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the paper of FIG. 5. It becomes difficult to dispose the connecting wire hook 106 on an end face of the yoke because the diameter of the slot insulator becomes also small as the diameter of the stator core is small in a smaller rotary electric machine. Thus, the connecting wire hook 106 needs to be disposed within the extended slot space 109.
In the stator for rotary electric machine of such type, a winding conductor is led out from a leading end M2 of a nozzle M1 of the winding machine M and wound around the plurality of magnetic pole portions 102. More specifically, the leading end M2 of the nozzle M1 is positioned in the vicinity of the connecting wire hook 106 at first. Subsequently, the nozzle M1 performs what is called a “box movement” which is the combination of an up/down motion in an extending direction of the centerline C and an oscillating motion in the circumferential direction of the annular yoke 101 so that the leading end M2 of the nozzle M1 repeatedly turns around the magnetic pole portion 102. In this manner, the winding conductor is led out from the leading end M2 of the nozzle M1 and wound around the plurality of magnetic pole portions 102.